Improvement in sewing-machines



D. HARRIS.

Sewing Machine.

No, 17,571. Patented June 16,1857,

Nv PETERS. Phulo-Lllhogmpher. Washmnlon. D C,

I UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrce.

DANIEL HARRIS, on BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS."

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 17,57 I, dated June 16, 1857.

To all whom it may concern: tal sliding plate, m. The plate mis connected Be it known that I, DANIEL HARRIS, of by a connecting-rod, 0, to the lever E,that Boston, in the county of Suifolk and State of works the needle-carrier, reciprocating mo- Massaehusetts, have invented a new and usetion being communicated to the plate at by the ful or Improved SewingJIachine, the nature similar motion of the lower arm of the lever. and operation (if which I hereby declare to be. The plate on slides betweeii the bearings 11 is fully set forth in the following specification as ways, and upon a bed, 1), placed under the and accompanying drawings, to which the plate. lVheu the plate begins to move forspecification and letters refer. ward, the pin n is in the front part of the slot, Figure 1 of the drawings represents a side and as the plate moves the slot causes the pin, elevation of the machine; Fig. 2, afront view, and consequently the looper-rod with it, to and Fig. 3 a bottom view, of it. move forward until the point of the looper A in the drawings denotes the table over reaches its most outward position, when-the which the material to be sewed passes. B pin will have reached theinner end of the slot. is the needle; Q, the hook or looper, which The plate then continuing to move against the forms and holds the loop of thread for the neepin causes the cylindrical looper to turn or rodle to pass through in its descent; D, the tate in its bearings until a stud, q, extending gooseneck of the machine, through which a from the looper-rod, strikes against the bed lever, E, passes, said lever turning upon a fulp and stops the rotary motion. As the plate crum, a, and being jointed to the needle-carnext movesback,aprojection, r, strikes against rier F in any proper manner. A suitable said stud and rotates the looper, so that the shaft, G, turning in bearings c c, and having pin n shall again enter the rear part of the a crank, d, aiiixed to its ends, serves, by a slot and the looper be pushed back. \Vhen erankarm, c and pin f, working in a slot, 9, the point of the looper reaches its outer posiof the lever, to give a reciprocating motion to tion under the needle-slot and begins to rothe lower end of the lever, and thereby to imtate, the stud comes against the edge of the part reciprocating vertical motions to the neeplate, or between it and the bearing k, in such dle, as will be readily understood from Fig. manner as to prevent the looper from sliding 1, such operation of the needle being essenlongitudinallyuntil it is rerotated, as before tiallylikethat of many other sewing-machines. described. The point or forward end of the H is the spool, turning on a pin, h, insertedin looper is constructed as follows: It has a slot, the top of the goose-neck, and having its 8, made from one edge down into it, suificiently thread a; passing from it through suitable large for the needle to penetrate, and just front guides to and through the eye of the needle. of this slot a' loop spreaderor opener, I, and As the needle and thread after passing through a nose, y. The loop-spreader is made flat on the cloth come before the point y of thelooper, one side, and the nose and spreader both far the thread is acted upon by the looper, conenough on one side of the axis of the cylinder structed and operating essentially as follows: and needle to allow the loop-rod, when rotated The looper, as shown particularly in Figs. at the proper times, to retreat past the needle. 4 and 5, which represent end and side views The effect of the above operations is as folof it, is made at the front end of a straight lows: \Vhen the needle and its thread are upcylindrical rod, said rod sliding horizontally on their downward course and the point of the i in bearings i k, placed just underneath and atneedle has just penetrated the cloth, the looper tached to the table-plate, and rotating in said is at its most forward position, as seen in Fig. bearings at proper times. Its horizontal mo- 6, its nose being advanced past the path of tion is directly under and parallel to the line the needle, its loop-spreader holding the loop of sewing on the cloth or material operated of thread open in said path, and the slot upon, and said motion is produced by a pin, or aperture of the looper also in said path. a, projecting from the side of the looper-rod, As soon as the needle has penetrated entirely working into an inclined slot, Z, in a horizonthrough the cloth, it begins to enter the loop spread out under it, and as it continues through it the looper-rod rotates until the spreader is turned at right angles to the table, when it is drawn back horizontally through its bearings, the needle descending untilthe looper is fully pushed back. When thus back, the nose of the looper is just against the side of the needle and in rear of the thread on the back of the needle, and as the needle begins to rise the thread slacks, the nose moves forward between the thread and needle, and as the point of the needle rises from under the 'table the spreader having the thread cast over it rotates and spreads the thread, ready for the next descent of the needle and thread. By

* this arrangement and movement of the looper I am always certain of catching the thread and making the loops, there not being that liability to miss the loops or thread that there is in most machines that sew the chain-stitch by the operation of a hook and needle.

The operation of the feed is as follows: A feed-bar, I, is placed on the lower end of a spring-arm, K, said arm having a spring, 0, applied to it in anysuitable manner to keep the bar I upon the cloth, and turning on a pin, a, extending through the lower arm, b of a lever, L, turning on a fulcrum, e". The upper armof this lever extends up in front of the needle-carrier, and has a long-vertical slot, d made in it, through which a pin, e", extending from said needle-carrier, works. The top of this slot is made inclined, as seen as f, and to the bottom of it an adjusting-wedge, g", is so applied that by means of a set-screw, If, and slot 2', or any other suitable-mechanism, said wedge may be raised or lowered.-

When the needle-carrier and needle descend, the pin 6 strikes againstthe face of the wedge .or inclined plate in such manner as to turn the lever L on its fulcrum, and thereby move I the feed-bar backward over the surface of the cloth, the cloth being prevented from sliding back with it by the needle which is in it. When the needle-carrier next moves up, and after the needle has left the cloth, the pin strikes the incline at the top of the slot, and thereby turns the lever in the opposite direction, forces the feed-bar forward, and with it the cloth, the extent of the feed and consequent length of the stitch being regulated or varied at pleasure by raising or lowering the wedge or incline 9 To raise the feed-bar in order to draw the cloth under the needle, a

handle, 1', is applied to the top of thespringarm K, as seen in Fig. 2.

I am aware that a looper or hook has been before made and used for effecting the same purpose as my loopernamely, to take the loop from the side of the needle and lay it open under the point thereof-by having reciprocating horizontal and rotary movements imparted to it. I therefore do not intend to claim as my invention these peculiar movements of a looper; neither do I intend to claim moving a hooked needle vertically through a fixed bearing up through a feed-bar to take the thread from the cloth, as my looping apparatus is not for such purpose. Y By my arrangement the looper is moved horizontally through fixed bearings up to and away from the needle, and rotated in such bearings when under the needle-point, a more certain and effective action being thereby imparted to the looper than can be done where a spiral rotary movement is given to the looper in taking the thread and spreading the loop, or where for this purpose it is placed on the end of a vibrating arm and plays through the arc of a circle.

What, therefore, I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

.The arrangement of the mechanism herein described for operating the reciprocating looper and giving it rotation or partial rotation for the purposes set forththat is to say, the combination of the inclined slot-plate m, the pin a, and the stud g, or their equivalents, they operating, as above described, to produce the proper movements of the looper.

,In testimony whereof I have hereto set my signature this 11th day of March, A. D. 1857.

DAN L. HARRIS. Witnesses:

FRANCIS GOULD, L. A. BIGELOW. 

